CAA has partnered with Tutku Tours to provide an exclusive offer for its members to spend thirteen days exploring the ancient and contemporary sides of Turkey, from April 26 to May 10, 2013. Highlights of the Art of Turkey trip include stops in Istanbul, Izmir, Cappadocia, Troy, Ephesus, and Pamukkale. The tour begins with three full days in Istanbul—the “city located on two continents”—where travelers will visit the major attractions, including the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia, and also get to know the city’s vibrant street life and local art scene.

Next, the tour will visit the ancient city of Troy and the Pergamum acropolis, and also the less-trodden destination of Ayvalık, a small town on the northwestern Aegean coast of Turkey. After several days of immersion in the ancient world, the group will pay a visit to the second International Izmir Art Biennial, one of the largest international art events in the country that will include more than three hundred artists; Seba Uğurtan, the biennial’s founder, will give tour participants an exclusive overview of the exhibition.

The Art of Turkey Tour will also provide CAA members with time for rest and relaxation. It will stop at the port city of Ephesus to visit a carpet school, along with an overnight stay at a spa hotel at the Pamukkale hot springs. The trip will conclude with a full day in Cappadocia, where travelers will explore the Goreme Open Air Museum, a vast collection of painted cave-churches dating from 1000 AD.

Getting There: Turkish Airlines provides nonstop, direct flights from the United States and Canada, leaving from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, and Toronto.

Land and Air Rates: $3,990 per person for a double room; $4,780 per person for a single room.

The Art of Turkey Tour features include:

International flight from New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Washington, DC, or Toronto

Thirteen nights in superior hotels

Meals (thirteen dinners, four lunches, daily breakfasts)

All entry fees to museums and sites, including the Izmir Art Biennial

Transportation and tour guide

Hot-air balloon flight and a whirling-dervishes ceremony in Cappadocia

For a detailed, day-by-day tour itinerary, please download and review the Art of Turkey brochure. Tutku Tours will host demonstrations and lectures on art in Turkey at its exhibit booth (#100) in the Book and Trade Fair at CAA’s 2013 Annual Conference in New York.